Data storage systems often include a slider involved in reading from and/or writing to a data storage medium. For example, disc drives are one popular form of data storage systems. Disc drives use rigid or flexible discs that include a storage medium for storage of digital information in a plurality of circular, concentric data tracks. The discs are mounted on a spindle motor which causes the discs to spin and the surfaces of the discs to pass under respective sliders. Such sliders use a fluid such as air to supply a hydrodynamic bearing force, which is typically counteracted by a load force. The sliders carry data interface heads, such as transducers, which write information to and/or read information from the disc surfaces.
A long-running objective in data storage systems has been to increase the density of data storage within a given area of data storage media. In pursuit of this objective, it is desired to reduce the height at which a slider flies over a data storage media surface. To accomplish this reduction in fly height while maintaining reliable performance, it is desirable to reduce the uncertainty and inconsistency in the fly height of the slider. It is also an important objective to control the pitch and roll of the slider with greater precision. Pitch outside of nominal range can drive inaccuracy in fly height, and can cause either the trailing edge or the leading edge of the slider to contact an opposing surface, sometimes catastrophically. Non-nominal roll can also degrade slider performance. This is particularly true when environmental conditions for the slider change over time. For example, the environment around a slider may vary in temperature, or the distribution of heat through different parts of the slider may vary over time.
A particular problem has been the interference of the hydrodynamic properties of the slider by the unavoidable expansion of slider components relative to other sections of the slider responsively to environmental factors. For example, a transducer typically has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than a substrate or other materials of which the slider and its hydrodynamic surface are composed. This degrades the precision and performance of the slider in typical systems.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.